The Gortnacrannagh Idol unearthed in Roscommon bog, Ireland, 2021. Photo: courtesy Archaeological Management Solutions/European Association of Archaeologists
Introduction
Archaeologist working on the
route of the N5 Ballaghaderreen to Scramoge Road Bypass in Co. Roscommon have
discovered a 1,600-year-old wooden pagan idol. The discovery was made in the
townland of Gortnacrannagh, about six kilometres from the prehistoric royal
site of Rathcroghan.
Rathcroghan was an ancient site
of power and the prehistoric royal capital of Connachta, one of the five
ancient Irish kingdoms. The area is home to more than 240 archaeological
monuments, including Neolithic and Bronze Age burial mounds, ringforts, and
earthworks, and was known as a place of ritual gatherings. It is also said to
have been the site of the capital and palace of Queen Medb. According to
the Ulster Cycle, a group of legends set in the first century BC, Medb was
a powerful warrior who at one time ruled much of Ireland.
Gortnacrannagh Idol
During the excavation of the
wooden idol, archaeologists found an animal bone and what is thought to be a
‘ritual dagger’. The blade did not show evidence of use suggesting that,
perhaps, it was made specifically for animal sacrifice. The
Gortnacrannagh Idol remained intact due to the waterlogged conditions of the
bog.
The “Gortnacrannagh
Idol” measures over two and a half meters (8.2 ft.) high. Less than 15
similar idols have been found in Ireland and this one represents the largest
discovered to date. The 1,600-year-old wooden pagan idol was carved
from a split oak tree trunk during the Iron Age, which in Ireland occurred
between 500 BC - 400 AD. The idol has been radiocarbon dated to
between 252 and 413 A.D
A human-shaped head was carved at
one end of the artifact and the body was marked with several horizontal
notches. Dr Eve Campbell, Director of the AMS excavation site, told the Irish
Examiner that ancient Celtic cultures regarded wetlands “as
mystical places where they could connect with their gods and the Otherworld.”
Other Irish Wooden Idols
The Winter 2003 issue of Archaeology
Ireland reported the discovery of a prehistoric alder-wood ‘figure’ in Kilbeg
townland, Ballykeane Bog, County Offaly. The discovery was dated to the Bronze
Age. ‘Red Man’ of Kilbeg was one of seven probable alder-wood idols deposited
in the raised bogs of east Offaly in the early/late Bronze Age https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9QPoxrXxoA. The wooden idol
was carved from curved alder roundwood (231 cm long, 16cm maximum diameter). It
had been worked to a point at one end. Eleven notches 3cm apart had been cut
across its width. It was radiocarbon dated to 1739-1530 BC.
Prior to 2001, only three
prehistoric idols were known from Ireland all of which were recovered from
wetlands. The oldest figure was recovered from the early medieval ‘royal’
crannog at Lagore, County Meath. It was 47cm in height and dated to the Early
Bronze Age (2135-1944 BC). The second Bronze Age figure was dated to 1096-906
BC was discovered by turf cutters at Ralaghan, County Cavan. It was carved from
yew and was 114cm in height. The third idol was discovered in Corlea, Co Longford.
It was 5m tall and made form ash roundwood. One end was carved to a point while
the other end has a carved neck and bulbous head. This item was incorporated
within the sub-structure of an Iron Age (148 BC) trackway at Corlea.
“The lower ends of several
figures were also worked to a point suggesting that they may once have stood
upright,' stated wood specialist Cathy Moore. 'Their meaning is
open to interpretation, but they may have marked special places in the
landscape, have represented particular individuals or deities or perhaps have
functioned as wooden bog bodies, sacrificed in lieu of humans.”
AMS archaeologist Dr. Eve
Campbell, who directed the excavation of the site, said that the idol was
likely to be a pagan god.
"The Gortnacrannagh Idol
was carved just over 100 years before St. Patrick came to Ireland — it is
likely to be the image of a pagan deity. … Our ancestors saw wetlands as
mystical places where they could connect with their gods and the Otherworld.
The discovery of animal bone alongside a ritual dagger suggests that animal
sacrifice was carried out at the site and the idol is likely to have been part
of these ceremonies."
The idol is being conserved at University College Dublin and will eventually go on display at the National Museum of Ireland.
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An early reconstruction of the Shigir Idol from 1894. Photo: courtesy Sverdlovsk Regional Museum
The Shigir Idol
The most famous prehistoric wooden sculpture is the 12,500-year-old Shigir Idol, uncovered in a Russian peat bog which is the oldest known example of ritual art in the world. The incredible wooden sculpture was pulled from a peat bog in the western fringes of Siberia, Russia, 125 years ago. The Shigir idol is 2.8 meters (9.2 feet) long, though it was originally 5.3 meters (17.4 feet) before lengths of the artifact were accidentally destroyed during the Soviet era.
Head of the Shigir Idol, the world's oldest known wood sculpture. Photo: courtesy Sverdlovsk Regional Museum
Doogarymore Wooden Wheel
In 1968/9 two warped fragments of pre-historic block wheels from the same period were found in the Roscommon bog. The National Museum of Ireland declared that these two artifacts were the earliest evidence of the wheel being used for transport on the island.
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| Doogarymore Wooden Wheel. Photo: courtesy Flickr |
The idol is now in University
College Dublin, undergoing a three-year programme of preservation. The idol
will be given to the National Museum of Ireland once the project is completed.
Meanwhile, the AMS will make a replica of the Gortnacrannagh idol and donate it
to the Rathcroghan Centre, where it will go on display.
Conclusion
The discovery of an Iron Age wooden
idol near the ancient royal site of Rathcroghan has shone a light on pagan
Ireland around a hundred years before the arrival of St Patrick. The
Gortnacrannagh Idol remained intact due to the waterlogged conditions of the
bog. It is thought that it may have formed part of an animal sacrifice. Less
than 15 similar idols have been found in Ireland and this one represents the
largest discovered to date.
https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/pagan-idol-0015694
https://roscommonherald.ie/2021/08/13/rare-artefact-from-iron-age-unearthed-near-rathcroghan/
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